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The officer who arrested former UCSB student Meron Meshesha during a rowdy night in 2006 outside the old Cooney’s Bar on Anacapa Street testified for the second day in her misdemeanor trial Wednesday, describing a “near riot situation” in which he was telling the crowd to stay back, when Meshesha came forward past the “skirmish line” and walked into his arm.

Meshesha and Aseye Allah were both arrested in the early morning of June 16, 2006, for obstructing peace officers in the performance of their duty. As the bar began emptying out just before 2 a.m. that morning, Donald Bivens, a visiting Marine from San Diego, hit student Reggie Smith in the face and knocked him unconscious. Officer Andre Feller testified that as the crowd became excited after the incident, he immediately engaged in crowd control. During this time, Meshesha tried to walk past Feller’s extended arm to help her friend, and she walked into his arm, according to Feller. Feller tried to place her under arrest but she resisted, he said, and he didn’t believe she was going to stop, so he took her to the ground because it is “easier to control somebody on the ground and handcuff them versus collecting somebody’s arms while they are flailing, especially with all of the chaos in the crowd,” he said. “Had she backed up and walked away, even after yelling profanities at you, would she have been arrested?” Deputy District Attorney Paula Waldman asked, to which Feller responded, “We would not have been here today. She would not have been arrested.”

Following Feller on the stand was Officer Noel Rivas, who went to help Smith after he was hit. The crowd quickly grew after the punch, Rivas said, and was yelling at police trying to create room for Smith, saying “You can’t tell us what to do,” and “Do something,” with regard to Smith. He described the tone of the crowd as antagonistic and angry and “felt my safety was compromised and maybe that of Smith, because they were not giving us the space we needed for medics to get to Mr. Smith.” This was later verified by Eric Spencer, a paramedic with American Medical Response, who said he had to wait off-site almost ten minutes because they received word that the crowd was volatile.

Steven Olivera, who worked as a bouncer for Cooney’s, said people in the crowd were “unruly,” calling the police “pigs” and yelling “Fuck you, cop.”

Meshesha, along with Allah, have filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Santa Barbara, Police Chief Cam Sanchez and 16 officers, detectives and sergeants because of what allegedly happened that night. The three officers to testify Wednesday-Feller, Rivas and Officer Douglas Klug-all are named in the civil suit. Among the complaints are that police suppressed free speech, unlawfully arrested the two women and used excessive force. Battery, negligence and conspiracy to interfere with civil rights are also mentioned in the suit. According to city attorney Stephen Wiley, the police department conducted an investigation into the incident which showed all the involved officers acted appropriately, and none were suspended or reprimanded because of the incident. Defense attorney Gary Casselman, who is representing the two women in both the civil and criminal cases, along with Burbank-based lawyer Joe Freeman, whose website touts him as well experienced in civil rights litigation, “most particularly police misconduct cases.”

The court was on recess today, but will resume Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. in Judge Brian Hill’s Department 2 courtroom.

Comments

Police brutality. Sounds like the cops picking a fight and illegally suppressing a crowd. We have a right to peaceably assemble you know. If the police chose to make a peaceful assembly violent, the crowd must not be held accountable to these thugs that violate the 14th amendment by carrying firearms while normal citizens are forbidden to do so.

I guess all the murders, rapes and robberies were solved, and the speeding ticket quotas were met, so the jackbooted gestapo thug cops had to pick a fight with innocent civilians.

Mick, read the story again and see how closely your "peaceably assemble" description fits. A crowd of people pouring out of a bar at 2 am, fueled by alcohol and a fistfight, yelling "You can't tell us what to do!" and "F-ck you pig!" is not in any way peaceful.

I'm sure you'd like to paint this as some political rally that officers broke up with tear gas and riot gear, but the reality is that the officers were in a dangerous situation trying to get help to a student lying unconscious on the ground. The officers were acting with the student's (and their) safety in mind. The crowd was acting on their own self-rightious indignation and post-don't-tase-me-bro police prejudice. They cared more about arguing with the cops over nothing than they did about Smith's well being.

To the first poster, mickrussom, what story did you read about? Did you even read the story? Can you read English? What the hell are you talking about? They were trying to help a person knocked out when the crowd rioted. Do you get out much or do you draw all your info from Youtube?

Some of these bloggers sound suspiciously like cops or cop-lovers. Charging these two defendants with "obstructing peace officers in the performance of their duties" is a real stretch. The crowd may have been unruly but the most these two did was try to get to their friend to help him, and then the heavy-handed cops man-handled them unnecessarily, thereby inciting the near-riot. They are being prosecuted as scapegoats to cover up the inept handling of the situation by, and possible racism of, the cops. This incident reflects the contnued lack of leadership, incompetence and racism of the SBPD Chief, Cam Sanchez.

zorro you sound like a "cop hater". It is funny how you try to speak educated about facts that you know nothing about. You do well critiquing the police when you obviously know nothing about what happened except what is printed here. Pray tell, what would you have done to help the unconscious person that medical personnel were trying to help? How do you control an out of control crowd fueled by alcohol and a "safety in numbers" mentality? I doubt you will respond with any real answers, you sound like a putz.

I have to go back to the first poster, mickrussom, as well. You sound like someone who assumes anytime police use force, they are using it unnecessarily. This is not true. Anyone with half a brain can blatantly recognize police brutality when it occurs. Police show up at 2am and some poor guy's out cold on the pavement... they're already on their guard.This chick was probably trashed, and she's fighting with a cop? Bad idea, sweetheart. I understand your concern for your friend, but use a little common sense.

As for the person suggesting we close all bars because it lures out the spoiled brats? You're really not any more intelligent than our friend, mickrussom, up there. Some people are actually able to go out on a Saturaday with a smidge of responsibility. Drivers licenses are given to morons, too. Shall we just take all those away as well?

And for god's sake, must EVERYTHING be a race issue? If a white girl had conducted herself like that, she would've been in handcuffs, too. Everyone needs to focus on the issue at hand, and stop making stupid excuses for irresponsible behavior.